Bliss Carman Middle School is under construction on about 8 hectares (20 acres) of land on Kimble Drive. The building is scheduled to open in the fall of
2009, and will replace the aging 54-year-old Albert Street Middle School.

"Naming the school after Bliss Carman is fitting because he was one of the most recognized and influential poets of his time," said Lamrock. "It is important to
recognize our local leaders, both past and present, and naming Fredericton's new middle school after Bliss Carman is a terrific way to do so."

Carman was born in Fredericton in 1861, and became Canada's best-known poet. Descended from American Loyalists, he attended the University of New
Brunswick, Edinburgh and Harvard. He later moved to New York and was influential as an editor and writer for numerous literary journals. He is also well-known for his anthology and editing work on 'The World's Best Poetry' (10 volumes, published in 1904) and 'The Oxford Book of American Verse' (1927).
In 1928 he was awarded the Lorne Pierce Gold Medal by the Royal Society of Canada.

In 1929 Carman died at the age of 68 in New Canaan, Conn. He is buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredericton.

The new school name was selected from a list of three proposals submitted by the District 18 Education Council.

"The District 18 Education Council would like to thank students, parents and community members for forwarding many suggestions to name the new school on
Kimble Drive," said Jeannine St. Armand, District Education Council chair for School District 18. "We are very happy with the minister's selection of Bliss
Carman Middle School, as it brings an important historical literary figure into the culture of a new school community."

The 7,288-sq.-metre (78,400-sq.-ft.) school will accommodate 645 students in grades 6-8. It will include 20 classrooms, an art room, a music room, two
science rooms, one computer lab, and other rooms for technology and physical education. It will also feature a large gymnasium and a cafeteria that will be
designed to also function as an auditorium.